Christian men are called on to be servants, mighty spiritual warriors, and leaders, following the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They fight for the souls of lost people.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
I. Christ’s Key Masculine Roles
· Servant
· Warrior
· Prophet
· Provider
· Protector
· King
· Healer
· Counselor
· Judge
· Leader
· Builder
· Priest
II. Christ’s Key Masculine Traits
· Courage
· Strength
· Initiative
· Wisdom
· Truthfulness
· Gentleness
· Generosity
· Self-Control
· Self-Denial
· Humility
· Obedience
· Compassion
· Justice
· Faithfulness
· Holiness
· Piety
· Skill
· Diligence
III. Matching Them Up
· Servant: Humble, Self-Denying, Faithful
· Warrior: Strong, Courageous, Self-Controlled, Just
· Leader: Wise, Purposeful, Initiating, Goal-oriented
· Healer: Compassionate, Gentle, Wise
· Prophet: Truthful, Fearless, Pious, Holy, Faithful
· Provider: Generous, Self-Denying, Wise
· Protector: Strong, Courageous, Faithful
· King: Just, Wise, Compassionate, Strong, Initiating
· Counselor: Wise, Truthful, Holy, Pious, Compassionate
· Judge: Just, Wise, Faithful, Compassionate, Pious
· Builder: Faithful, Wise, Diligent, Skillful
· Priest: Holy, Pious, Faithful
IV. Applying this to Men Now
A. Servant: Humble, Self-Denying, Faithful
1. Men are called on to serve God and others at all times
2. Sinful masculinity is men using their positions for self-serving motives
3. Christ calls each man to imitate him in pouring himself out for others
4. Best picture: Jesus washing his disciples’ feet
a. Christian husbands are called on to do this for their wives
b. Christian fathers also to do this for their children
c. Elders and deacons in the church are to use their positions to serve others
Luke 22:25-27 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
B. Warrior: Strong, Courageous, Self-Controlled, Just
1. Jesus fought Satan and demons with his holy power
2. Jesus destroyed Satan by his own death
3. Jesus destroyed Satan’s temptations in the desert
4. Jesus demolished the false doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees
5. Present-day Christian men are also to be warriors in the same pattern
a. Fighting for the souls of lost people
b. Fighting against false ideas and doctrines
c. Fighting sin by mortifying the deeds of the flesh
d. Fighting against injustice by proclaiming and living righteousness
6. Best picture: Jesus and the Christian warrior
Christ: Psalm 45:2-7 You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. 4 In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. 5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. 6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Christian warrior: Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
C. Leader: Wise, Purposeful, Initiating, Goal-oriented
1. Jesus knew exactly why he had entered the world and specifically what God wanted him to do every day
2. Christian men imitate him by likewise knowing why we exist and what our purpose is daily
3. Having established that, we can call others to follow us as we follow Christ
Mark 10:32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
4. The world and the church need strong Christian men as leaders… this is the fundamental role of Christian men both in the home and the church that sets them apart from women
5. The world and the church does not need tyrants… there are plenty of those; but neither does it need passive weak men who lead no one ever.
D. Healer: Compassionate, Gentle, Wise
1. Jesus was the greatest healer of all time, doing a river of miracles daily, restoring physical function to blind, deaf, mute, paralyzed, hunchbacked and even dead people. He also had complete power over demons and drove them out with a word. His healings were effortless, comprehensive, 100% effective, varied (curing any and every disease and sickness he encountered) and totally free of charge. They were also personal as he preferred to deal with sick people personally and generally one at a time.
2. BUT the most important healing Jesus did was spiritual:
Luke 5:31-32 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
3. Most Christian men will not by physical healers. But the ministry of the gospel goes on healing sin-sick souls, and Christian men can and must be involved in that ongoing gospel healing work. We do this by sharing the gospel with lost people and saturating our families with the word of God.
4. Also Christian fathers should heal the sin sickness they see in their children as circumstances call them to address sin habits and patterns they see.
5. The same is true in Christian churches. Christian men are called on to heal sin sickness in other church members by the ongoing ministry of the word.
6. This includes giving hope to depressed people, rebukes to people enslaved by sin, encouragement to people emerging from sin patterns, etc.
7. Though most Christian men will not be elders, yet all Christian men can be healers in this sense.
E. Prophet: Truthful, Fearless, Pious, Holy, Faithful
1. Jesus spoke the word of God boldly, clearly, directly, fearlessly to everyone he interacted with.
2. He was faithful to the word, never shrinking back from any aspect of its truth. He boldly warned prideful sinners, while also gently encouraging repentant sinners.
3. His willingness to confront sin boldly with God’s truth is what made people hate him unjustly:
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.
John 15:25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
4. Christian men are not called to be prophets in the literal sense, but again like the spiritual healing I just described, we are called on to speak the word of God to each other:
Ephesians 4:14-15 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
5. These speaking and teaching ministries are essential in the Christian family. Christian husbands are called on to wash their wives with the word as Christ did, and they are called on the pour the gospel into their children from infancy.
6. Christian men are also to face the sin-enslaved world with boldness and with the truth of the word of God, fearlessly proclaiming it no matter the cost or consequences:
Ephesians 6:19-20 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Acts 4:12-13 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
7. Christian men are sometimes called on to evaluate circumstances in this world and render righteous verdicts and courses of action, like Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 5:6-7 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them…
8. This prophetic boldness is exactly what it means to be salt and light in the world. To shrink back from boldly speaking gospel truth because of fear of man is to lose our saltiness:
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
9. As our culture wanders farther and farther from norms of righteousness, Christian men will be called on more and more to bold prophetic truth-telling.
[God said to the prophet Ezekiel] “Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices…” [Ezekiel 22:2]
F. Provider: Generous, Self-Denying, Wise
1. Jesus fed the 5000. Jesus empowered his disciples to catch huge quantities of fish. He met their physical needs. He also called on his followers to labor not for the food that spoils but the food that endures to eternity… the Bread of Life.
2. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that feeds his flock. He is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven to feed the world eternally.
3. Christian men are called on to be providers for their families. Paul said
1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
4. This involves earning money to meet the needs of your family. Holding down a job, even if it proves distasteful to you.
5. Christian men also provide for the needs of the church, contributing resources needed to support the work of the ministry and the relief of the poor.
6. And Christian men do that as well… meeting the needs of widows and orphans as James 1 says. This role of self-denying provider is very masculine and very Christ-like,
G. Protector: Strong, Courageous, Faithful
1. Christ is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He died to protect the sheep from the wolves. He is not the weak fleeing hired hand who cares nothing for the sheep.
John 10:11-14 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me
2. Christian men are like a wall of protection to those entrusted to their care. Like David the warrior king and his men:
1 Samuel 25:15-16 Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. 16 Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them.
3. Christian men are like the watchman on the walls, enabling the city to sleep soundly, warning it when danger comes.
Ezekiel 33:7 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
Hosea 9:8 The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim
This is the very role that Adam was placed in and failed. He was supposed to “serve and protect” (Gen. 2:15) Protect = shamar. The cherubim did what Adam was supposed to do… same Hebrew word.
Genesis 3:24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
So a faithful Christian man guards his family, his church, his friends, his nation from harm, especially spiritual harm.
H. King: Just, Wise, Compassionate, Strong, Initiating
1. Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is about authority, the God-given right to rule.
2. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
3. Christian men are often put in positions of authority to rule under Christ. We are not kings, but we are often as the centurion:
Matthew 8:9 I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
4. Christian husbands have a special kind of authority in their marriage, implied in the word “head” and the command to the wife to “submit.” So also Christian fathers have authority over their children, such that their children are to honor and obey them (Eph. 6). Christian elders have a collective authority over the church to lead, direct, and spend the church’s resources under the overall headship of Christ. For this reason the church is told to obey its leaders. (Heb. 13:17)
5. Though not every Christian man has authority, many men do in these various roles.
6. Christian men should imitate Jesus as the servant king:
John 13:13-14 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I. Counselor: Wise, Truthful, Holy, Pious, Compassionate
1. Christ is the “wonderful counselor” (Isa. 9) He spoke perfect words of advice and counsel to sinners day after day.
2. Christ said he would send “another Counselor” to be with us forever, the “Spirit of truth.” The Holy Spirit is that Counselor.
3. Christian men are to train their minds and hearts in the word of God by the Spirit of God so they can give wise counsel to others.
Romans 15:14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to counsel one another.
4. Fundamental to this counseling ministry is the truth of the Word of God. Isaiah prophesied this about Jesus:
Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
So also Christian men should imitate this ministry.
We should be fountains of hope to all we meet:
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. The more mature in the word of God we are, the more God will bring people to us so we can counsel them wisely.
J. Judge: Just, Wise, Faithful, Compassionate, Pious
1. Jesus is the Judge of all the earth. All judgment has been entrusted to him:
John 5:22-23 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Isaiah 11:1-5 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him– the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD– 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
2. Christian men do not often play the formal role of judges, though some might. Look at the passage in which Paul criticizes the Corinthian church concerning lawsuits:
1 Corinthians 6:1-6 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother goes to law against another– and this in front of unbelievers!
3. So, some Christian men in churches may well have to make wise judgments in the life of the church.
4. Christian fathers definitely have to judge their children day after day in various “cases” in which their words and actions have to be evaluated fairly and judgments rendered.
5. So in whatever roles Christian men are called on to be judges, they should study how Jesus displayed perfect righteousness and justice in his judgments and seek to emulate him.
K. Builder: Faithful, Wise, Diligent, Skillful
1. Jesus has been building his church for twenty centuries now… he has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven by building us in the gospel. He is a perfectly skillful builder, and what he is building will last for all eternity.
2. Christian men likewise are called on to build with him.
3. In some cases, Christian men literally build… houses, farms, fences, machines, etc. They are called on to repair elements of their homes and properties that need attention, not to be sluggards:
Proverbs 24:30-34 I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; 31 thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. 32 I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest– 34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
4. So we build… temporal things that the needs of our families or our churches require… as in disaster relief after a hurricane. But also spiritually by the ministry of the Word.
5. Essential to this is working as Jesus worked:
John 4:34 My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 9:4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
6. If we are not building with Jesus, we are tearing down:
Matthew 12:30 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
L. Priest: Holy, Pious, Faithful
1. Christ is the faithful and perfect High Priest. He offered sacrifices for his people and continually prayed for them.
Hebrews 7:24-25 because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
2. Christian men have priestly duties as well:
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God– this is your spiritual act of worship.
Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise– the fruit of lips that confess his name.
1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Romans 15:15-16 because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
3. Christian fathers especially should consider themselves priests of their families
a. Praying for them
b. Instructing them
c. Shepherding them
Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
V. Examples of Christ in Action
· Prophet: Truthful, Fearless, Pious, Holy, Faithful
Old Testament prophetic role: individuals called into the presence of God to hear his words and deliver them faithfully to the people.
Christ as role model for this prophetic role.
1) Designated as the perfect and final prophet
Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2) Heard God’s word and perfectly delivered it to the people
John 12:49-50 I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.
3) Saturated in the truth… and is truth incarnate
John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.
John 18:37 for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
4) Fearlessly told the truth, no matter the consequences to himself
Luke 11:43-46 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.” 45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
Luke 11:53-54 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.
Mark 14:61-64 Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.
Luke 23:1-3 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
5) Faithful to God to deliver the word he commanded him to speak
1 Corinthians 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Revelation 1:5 Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness
Revelation 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
Summary: A Christian man is called upon to imitate Jesus Christ as a courageous and bold teller of the truth, especially the Word of God. Much of our courage and leadership is specifically in this area… willingness to speak the truth people need to hear, even if it causes us trouble.
Like Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 20:8-9 the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
· Priest: Holy, Pious, Faithful
Old Testament priests offered sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people and prayed for the people; they also spoke the Law of God to the people.
Jesus is the perfect and faithful High Priest, fulfilling this role:
Hebrews 5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Hebrews 10:12 when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 7:24-25 because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
In the Old Testament, patriarchs were priests for their families, setting up family altars and offering sacrifices for their families and praying for them:
Job 1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
Genesis 12:7-8 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
All Christian ministry is done in light of Jesus’ final and perfect sacrifice for our sins; we are not called on to built literal altars and offer literal sacrifices.
But Christian husbands and fathers are given a New Covenant role like this… to have regular family devotions in the Word and to pray consistently for their loved ones in light of the perfected work of Christ.
So also pastors/elders do the same for the church… by prayer and the ministry of the word, interceding for the saints.
Paul spoke of his ministry as apostle to the Gentiles in priestly terms:
Romans 15:15-16 because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
This priestly ministry is not exclusive to men in the New Covenant:
1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, the living Stone– rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
However, in the unique roles that men are given in the Christian family and the church, it is imperative for them to see it in this priestly sense.
We are called on to stand in the gap and pray as intercessors and mediators.
Ezekiel 22:30 “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
Summary: Priests offered sacrifices for the sins of the people and prayed for them, as well as spoke the Law of God to them. Christ has perfected the sacrifices once for all time. But Christian men have a priestly role to play based on the perfect ministry of Christ as High Priest by their intercessions and pleading the merits of Christ’s blood for their families and their fellow church members.
· Builder: Faithful, Wise, Diligent, Skillful
Christ is an amazing construction worker… building a kingdom that will stand for all eternity:
2 Samuel 7:12-13 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
Hebrews 3:3-4 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Ephesians 2:20-22 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
The original mandate from God:
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
Our work was cursed in the fall
Genesis 3:17-19 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Ecclesiastes 2:4-6 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
God has called Christian men to be builders… and to do skillful, high-quality work:
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
Work ethic like Jesus’:
John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 9:4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
Christian men are called on to be builders… physical work, yes, though we know it is cursed and will end in dust. But especially builders of the Kingdom of Christ, because of this:
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
